DETROIT – A Detroit mother has been charged with second-degree child abuse after her 4-year-old son apparently shot himself in their west side home.
The Wayne County prosecutor's office said Tuesday that 30-year-old Latasha Lum awoke to a gunshot after falling asleep Monday night with a .40-caliber handgun in the living room of her home on Minock Street.
Her son, Jaylen, shot himself in the thigh. He's in stable condition at Children's Hospital in Detroit.
Police said Latasha Lum told them she had gone to the gun range earlier in the day and fell asleep with the gun in a holster on her hip. But police also said the boy told them he found the gun on a table.
Jaylen's uncle, Joshua Wilson, said his sister would never put her son in harm's way.
"She's a good mom," Wilson said. "She works every day and she works hard."
Wilson said his sister has a gun for personal protection.
-- Jaylen Lum